Lions rip boy to shreds on S. African game farm

19/06/2007 08:03 – (SA)
Linda de Beer, Beeld

Vryburg – All that remained of a nine-year-old boy who was caught and eaten by lions on a farm in the Boshoek/Bray area in North West on Sunday, was a small piece of his skull.

Police spokesperson Charlize van der Linden said Tsepo Gearupi apparently put his arm through the gate of the lion enclosure, where one of the lions grabbed him and pulled him into the camp.

Van der Linden said farmworkers went to the lion enclosures on Sunday afternoon to see the animals and take photos.

The children were supposed to stay at home, but they sneaked out later to follow the adults.

“The grown-ups only realised that the children were at the lion camps when they heard screams. There were eight lions in the camp in which Tsepo was, but apparently only two attacked him.”

The boy was from Morakweng, outside Ganyesa. It was not yet clear how he was connected to the farm.

Van der Linden said the owners of the farm were apparently away for the weekend.

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